Photo: file.
Historical left leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will begin writing a new chapter in his impressive biography this Sunday as he begins his third term as president, an unprecedented event in Brazil’s recent history.
At 77, this former metallurgy worker has become a global icon becomes the oldest president of Brazil after receiving the presidential sashfollowing a bitter campaign against his main political enemy, far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who in turn is the first president to lose re-election since the country’s redemocratization.
Everything at the ceremony, taking place in Brasilia, is strictly planned, including the traditional parade in a Rolls-Royce, opening from the Esplanade of Ministries, from the beautiful Metropolitan Cathedral and among tens of thousands of people, the inauguration session at the National Congress and the presentation of the presidential sash the top of the ramp of the Planalto Palace in front of dozens of heads of state and other authorities.
That is precisely the only point that escapes the record this year. According to tradition, Bolsonaro would wear the presidential sash around Lula, which would be the photo of the year for many. But in the context of the extreme rivalry between the two – Bolsonaro did not explicitly accept defeat or congratulate Lula – the far right traveled to Miami, USA, on Friday and will not attend the ceremony.
Later, when Lula is already President, the Festival of the Future is held, a popular party organized by the First Lady, sociologist Rosangela da Silva, and attended by dozens of performers.
From this January 1st Brazil will take a complete turn under the leadership of Lula, who has a very different country than the one he received during his first presidency in 2003: economically weakened by inflation and debt, extremely polarized and right-wing Congress, heavily influenced by Bolsonarianism.
“Today we tell the world that Brazil is back, that Brazil is too big to be relegated to this sad role of pariah in the world,” he said in his first speech after his victory, given after forming a broad Front had won the narrowest lead in recent history.
The future president has already said that fighting hunger will be his government’s top priority and that he wants to change almost everything from his predecessor, from environmental policies, which have been heavily criticized for the increase in fires and deforestation, particularly in the Amazon , foreign relations that have virtually isolated Brazil in Latin America, including economic governance.
Eight years before going to prison The Left exited the presidency with record numbers of popularity after two terms in which he gained tremendous international standingnotably the social programs that lifted tens of millions out of poverty thanks to the commodities boom and frenetic diplomatic activity in the golden age of left-wing governments in the region.
Born in 1945 in a poor and semi-arid area of the Northeast, the patriarch of the left lived a starved childhood before his presidency, during which he worked as a shoeshine boy and street vendor, was a laborer, union leader, co-founder of the Workers’ Party (PT) and three-time presidential candidate.
He was married three times. His first wife, María de Lourdes da Silva, died of hepatitis two years after their marriage. In 1974 he married Marisa Letícia Rocco and they had three children. After 43 years together, Marisa died of a stroke in 2017.
That year, he interrupted his campaign to marry 56-year-old sociologist Rosangela da Silva, better known as Janja, who was very present at all campaign events. The couple began dating in December 2017, but it wasn’t public until 2019, when Lula was in prison for more than a year.